Erie Family to open new clinic at Swedish Covenant Hospital

A health clinic that for years has served low-income patients on the city's West Side is opening a new health center on the North Side campus of Swedish Covenant Hospital.

Erie Family Health Center will open the clinic on Monday, a dual effort to provide much-needed primary care services to the local neighborhood and serve as a training ground for new doctors, Erie CEO Dr. Lee Francis said in an interview.

The Erie Foster Health Center will provide prenatal care and pediatrics, “through the full cycle of life” to older adults, he said. The center will also offer dental care and mental health services.

“Our goal is to work with Swedish Covenant to provide top-level primary care but also to train the next generation of primary care providers,” he said. “There's going to be a shortage of primary care providers, particularly as health care reform goes into effect.”

Founded in 1957 on the West Side, Erie Family serves about 43,000 patients a year in 13 Chicago-area locations. The nonprofit recorded revenue of $33.6 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012.

The center will lease one floor of a new, eight-story medical office building developed by Swedish Covenant at Foster and California avenues. The $50 million building was financed in part by a $7 million grant from the Quinn administration and $4 million raised through the sale of tax credits awarded by the city of Chicago.

“In expanding access to quality health care services, Swedish Covenant and Erie Family Health Center are investing in the lives of people in the community,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a news release. “Health care is a growing field in Chicago with a critical need for increased services, and facilities like this help our economy grow while improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL

Patients without a regular primary care physician who turn up in Swedish's emergency room will be referred to Erie Foster for their future preventive health needs.

The new center will also likely benefit Swedish Covenant, which posted revenue of $268.6 million in year ended Sept. 30. The 312-bed hospital expects to see 31,000 more annual visits due to Erie Foster's referrals, which will likely increase diagnostics, specialty services and inpatient care at the hospital.

“Not only does Swedish Covenant Hospital's partnership with Erie increase access to health care services in our community, it provides a continuum of training for our medical residents, increases access to specialty care services and, ultimately, provides a medical home for individuals and families,” Swedish CEO Mark Newton said in a statement.